This invention relates generally to using processor-based systems and particularly to said systems which use touch screens.
Touch screens are display screens which display information associated with processor-based systems. They receive inputs in the form of contact or near contact between the user's finger or a stylus and the screen. Sensing elements, such as capacitance sensors, inside the screen, detect the contact or near contact by the object and provide a selection signal. Thus, when the user's finger, in one example, is proximate to a given icon displayed on the display screen, that icon may be thereby selected. In response, a processor-based system may take action in accordance with the user selection.
A number of different processor-based systems use touch screens including handheld processor-based systems, personal digital assistants, and any other processor-based system. Such a system provides a highly interactive arrangement with a reduced need for input devices to provide information for making user selections.
One potential application of a touch screen is in connection with an in car personal computer. In car personal computers provide conventional computer functions as well as functions particularly directed to the vehicle application. For example, the in car personal computer may provide a navigation or mapping function, may control connected appliances such as a cellular telephone, or a sound system, as examples.
One problem is that it is generally considered to be undesirable for the driver, when operating the vehicle, to look away from the road to view information on a display screen. To this end, voice control systems have been developed. However, voice control systems have a number of shortcomings. For example, they may imperfectly respond to any given user's voice. Moreover, they may be prone to errors when different drivers operate the same vehicle.
Thus, there is a need for better ways to interact with processor-based systems with touch screen displays.